Customers Reviews

Average customers review

(43 customer reviews)

Rev Counter

Date Added: Saturday 04 August, 2012

This is my second X7, I have filled the first one up with FLAC files and needed another to take the remaining music in my collection. But I am so impressed with the music quality that my iPod is now on Gumtree being sold and I can bear the extra weig...Read moreht and size as it is no big deal.

These are very good players. Not as intuitive as Apple products and not as compact but so what? Do you really care when you can get first class music through the headphones. After all that is what music is all about right? Good music, reproduced well. I would recommend the X7 in an instant. Buy one and realise that your iPod is not all that.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Joe Hawker

Date Added: Thursday 02 August, 2012

After a couple of weeks of X7 ownership it has become quite clear that this is leagues above anything I have used or owned before - from iPods to Samsungs to Creatives and many, many more. Though I would not say the X7 is for everyone, it's a niche p...Read moreroduct that people have been waiting years for. For some avid music listeners, flash storage just doesn't provide enough space, most players only going up to 32GB and the only players that do go above that (Sony Walkman, iPod Touch) just don't have the quality to their name when it comes to sound and flexibility. It seems strange then that it took a rival company (and a good one at that) to finally make an 'equivalent' to the ever popular iPod Classic without its gaping flaws, but better late than never, right?

In terms of audio this will support just about everything you throw at it and will play it more than admirably. The X7's playback and sound quality is the most faithful, accurate and clear I've ever heard in a portable music player, and the most impressive aspect is the fact that just about all of the enhancements actually enhance the sound in one form or another, rather than muddying the sound or making it sound artificial like the Creative and Samsung players do. It's the best sounding MP3 player out there in the market (though I can't speak for the higher end audiophile players with the battery life of a potato and form factor of a brick). Be it FLAC, MP3, Ogg, this will play it and I can almost assure you it'll play it better than anything else you could buy. As with 99% of all MP3 players however, invest in a good set of headphones or the effects of BBE and JE will be totally lost on you (I haven't even tried the included headphones but I'd bet my soul that they're just about useless in comparison to a good set).

For many this is enough to warrant a purchase, and I don't blame you, but you should hear the negatives first. For one, the screen resolution is pretty bad. This isn't all too obvious when you're just using the player, but if you're watching video it may become a little uncomfortable after extended viewing. Speaking of video, support for the most basic of formats simply isn't there. MP4, .mkv etc. This is really unforgivable considering they're both among the most popular formats in video. Maybe a future firmware change will fix this. The interface isn't anything to shout about but it's perfectly usable and very easy to get used to after half an hour or so. The formfactor is very big, perhaps twice the size of my previous player of choice (Samsung YP-P3) but it's far from offputting and it isn't very heavy, it feels substantial which is fitting considering that this is a serious player for serious music listeners. The battery life is fantastic too, I've yet to even be able to get it down half way and I've been using it constantly, the 103 hours likely isn't a joke. It also features an alarm that wakes you up to either your own music or the radio, a picture viewer (which admitedly is pretty awful but it was always a function that never got much use from me anyway), bluetooth capability that functions as you'd expect and more. Drag and drop support works great on Windows 7 64bit (ignore the warning that it doesn't work with 64bit, that only refers to the useless built-in software that I never installed) and the transfer speeds are also very quick, loading a lossless album taking about 30 seconds and an MP3 album anywhere from 5-10 seconds (!) in the highest quality setting.

In short, the X7 functions reliably and satisfyingly for 90% of what it sets out to do. For the remaining 10%, the sound, it excels the entire market seemingly with ease. This is a player that doesn't wow but it does please, it's reliable in that it will do whatever you want it to, no bells and whistles and for those who need the extra space it's exactly what we've been searching years upon years for. For many 32GB would be enough. In which case, the Cowon S9 or J3 are sitting there waiting for you, or even the D2. Some even include an SD slot for expansion. But for those with a library of lossless and not wanting to go through the hassle of converting your entire library, or just wanting lossless quality without space being a problem, there really isn't any reason why the X7 wouldn't please you. It's the hard disk player that doesn't skimp on quality (well, mostly) that many of us have been looking out for years for. Well, take it from me confidently, it's here and I doubt we'll see a better one for years - if ever. Where not flawless, what is? This is the best MP3 player I've ever owned and for those that need 100+ GB of space, it's the best on the market in terms of where it really matters, and it even offers much more than that.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Ann Davis

Date Added: Tuesday 24 July, 2012

I recently bought the Cowon X7 to replace an old and much loved (although sadly with insufficient memory) Archos 204. The Cowon is good. While it is considerably larger than my Archos, it is not as big as I had expected havign read some reviews. The ...Read moremenu system which seems to generate the most negative feedback, is fine. OK it takes a bit of getting used to but doesn't everything? The sound is excellent, which after all is what it was bought for. I bought a "slightly damaged" (small scratch on the back) version at a considerable reduction. Frankly it is difficult to see the scratch and having knocked about in my handbag for a few days has axquired a few more. Overall very happy with the X7 and with Advanced MP3Players service.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Dave Aston

Date Added: Wednesday 27 June, 2012

I have been using personal stereo’s since 1986 when I got my first Sony Walkman and this is the best thing I have heard and my favourite to date.

Sound quality is important to me - most people don’t seem bothered these days sadly but I actually c...Read moreare. I have a huge collection of music and still enjoy vinyl and CD’s. I needed a player that could store all my 320kps rips so went for this one. Glad I did – very pleased.

Not sure it’s quite ‘audiophile’ quality as claimed by some, however, as a portable player it's a step up from the stuff on the High St and can hold it’s own as a source in most ‘entry level’ hi-fi set ups. Bass lacks clarity on some recordings but I find this with MP3 in general – it’s a format thing rather than the player. It may seem pricey but is actually good VFM (relatively speaking) good sound reproduction has always come at a price.

On the down side…I don’t like touch screens and this one has one of the worst ever or is it just me? It seems unresponsive and there are inconsistencies in the menu that are just annoying Not got the hang of getting the album covers loaded either - some stuff I downloaded off Amazon appears OK but most of my tunes have been ripped from CD with Windows Media player before I bought my X7 and the covers don’t appear in the display. Not too bothered about this though and certainly not going to try to update the appropriate format pictures etc, I just drag and drop my folders and that’s it – easy, it’s all about the music for me.

I quite like the head phones that come with it but I have found the best results with an old pair of Sennheiser HD490's. Obviously you'll need to consider investing in a good set of cans to get the best out of this player but the ones in the box should tide you over til funds become available.

Finally, a word about the customer service at Advanced MP3 players - there was a minor problem with my order and so I phoned up the shop. The staff were friendly, knowledgable and sorted everything out straight away. Great place to get kit like this and worth checking on the website every now and again for the offers - I got mine substantially reduced due to a slightly damaged box. Cheers, Dave

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Hugh Munro Mitchell

Date Added: Saturday 23 June, 2012

I am now on my second X7 & still think it's the best large memory player in the world but am not impressed with the latest software update, the time between selecting a track and the machine playing it is far too long. ps the first X7 still works...Read more perfectly.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

William Baxter

Date Added: Thursday 07 June, 2012

Great, I don't care about the size, look's, or anything else, it' the sound, I'm using Audio Technica earphones, the wooden ones, and the combination is simply wonderful with rock and classical music. The radio works very well. Yes, this is the one.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Arthur

Date Added: Tuesday 08 May, 2012

Fantastic player. Sound quality usual Cowon excellence (with a decent set of headphones and flac files). The player itself feels like a brick compared to the J3 which was slim and pocket size. This thing pulls your trousers down if you don't have a b...Read moreelt on! However, it is worth putting up with for the sake of having all my music and podcasts on one player. I use it mostly in the car so don't object to the size too much. The UI is probably not great compared to some other manufacturers but it is better than the J3 so it is all relative!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Stuart Fraser

Date Added: Friday 27 April, 2012

FANTASTIC MUSIC PLAYER - TERRIBLE UI!

I purchased this unit from AMP3 just before Christmas. Unfortunately, my firsT unit had to be returned as the battery was hopeless, with major sound degradation after only four hours playing. However, AMP3 agr...Read moreeed with me and replaced the unit, and battery life has not been a problem since then.

This is THE player for you if you want to listen to your music. I have never heard music so clearly through headphones. Listening mainly to MP3s at 256 or 320 bitrate, I was picking up little nuances on albums I thought I knew like the back of my hand, for example, 10CC's "How Dare You" and Prefab Sprout's "Steve McQueen".

However, the UI is appalling, and the touchscreen is inaccurate and quite unresponsive, even after having used the calibration tool in the settings. It is ridiculously clumsy to do simple things like tuning the FM Radio, browsing photos, or switching between videos. Album art is, by default, zoomed in to such an extent that it is often difficult to identify.

Cowon are know for having useless UIs and this is unfortunately another bad one. Unfortunately I am not technologically savvy enough to replace the UI, as some seem to have done. I would worry that whatever I did might compromise sound quality or completely lose everything!

For me though, the sound quality means I can overlook these other shortcomings. It really is a fantastic music player, with a big enough HD to contain a decent proportion of my collection, ripped at a high enough bitrate to keep me happy and occupied until the cows come home.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Darren Gregory

Date Added: Monday 26 March, 2012

Having used other Cowon products in the past, I am pleased to report that this is of the same build quality...if you need a large volume of high quality music to hand this is the only device worth looking at. ..I use Westone 3 IEDs to get the most ou...Read moret of the X7.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Paul Eland

Date Added: Thursday 01 March, 2012

When researching mp3 players the name COWON kept coming up as very good quality. I absolutely love this device and the difference in sound from an ipod is astonishing. I use westone4 earphones and they truly perform when hooked to this baby. Yes the ...Read moreoperating system takes some getting used to but is totally forgiven whenever I press play. I copy my cds using FLAC it's so easy to transfer onto the player. My ipod is gathering dust I'm so glad I made the switch. Worth every penny. And it arrived the next day very cheaply thank you.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Simon Fisher

Date Added: Friday 06 January, 2012

It's hard to know where to start with this device, other than to say it isn't for everyone. A certain amount of patience and time is required to get this to be the player you want it to be.

First impressions are that it is not as brick like as eve...Read moreryone says. Until you pop it into the official case and it's like a pocket bible! The UI is also not as unresponsive as reported. I've owned an ipod touch, an iphone, a Samsung Galaxy S2 and whilst not in their league the screen is fit for purpose.

The screen resolution also is fine for this size. Why people obsess about HD video on a screen 4 inches big is beyond me. You'd need a viewing distance of about 1 mm to discern HD quality. I've watched an episode of The Simpsons, an episode of The West Wing, and a few Talking Heads videos on this - it is absolutely great. (The video formats I was using: avi & mp4).

Yes, I've seen some of the "cons" mentioned elsewhere: the USB lead does not lock or clip into place. The slightest motion seems to disconnect the device, not great when doing a bulk transfer. The album art is erratic & zoomed in to ridiculous amounts. I fixed the latter by using the "Sense" UI widely available. The former - still under investigation. I thought my tags were impeccable, but this is unforgiving. A number have had to be redone with mp3tag. Listening to "The Hazards of Love" on mp3 showed that gapless playback (on firmware 2.07) isn't implemented. I believe it is with flac format though, so I'll try & re-rip the ones that need it on flac - things like Dark Side of The Moon, Diamond Dogs etc etc

The trick on the set-up is to choose non-EU. The volume is loud, very loud. On my London commute I set it to 30 (out of 40) and it is fine through a pair of Sennheiser CX400 IIs.

Sound quality is absolutely brilliant - so transparent. Higher bitrate mp3 files are the way to go - lower bitrate files tend to sound a bit rubbish (the experience is s little like being at a concert with slightly out of phase speakers). The pre-set equaliser settings are really beneficial. The overall SQ is so much better than any other player I've had before.

Disk size: what can you say. It has swallowed my 74GB music collection and then every episode of The West Wing with acres to spare. Commuter bliss! Transfer rates from my NAS to the device were relatively slow however - about 2.5 MB per second.

There are a number of User Interfaces around, the ones I've tried are Leaf (a replacement device browser) and Sense (a replacement music player). Both are drag & drop installs and just work. There is very little documentation around so the trick is to just keep prodding away to see what happens!

The device has impressed through CX400 II buds, also through Sennheiser HD 212 Pro headphones. However they sound best in my ears through my Shure SRH440 headphones - the depth of sound is a lot more noticeable with these on.

A note for the wary: you will be much more hands on with this (over say an ipod classic) - and you will have many more frustrations and things not going as planned. But when you actually let it do its thing (music playback or video) then it is an absolute joy.

Finally - I've been buying stuff (sporadically) from AMP3 sinse my first mp3 player (an XCLEF HD500). They are truly one of the best on the web.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

Andy Cole

Date Added: Wednesday 04 January, 2012

I bought the X7 to replace my ailing D2 and purely as a music player. I play FLACs through Shure SE530s and expected similar high quality to my pevious Cowon. The X7 undoubtedly sounds better which was an unexpected bonus. Having all the music on one...Read more hard drive rather than a plethora of SD cards makes it much more useable too.

I like the resistive touch screen too - I have had too many problems with capacitive ones not working for me. It is worth taking the trouble to calibrate the screen using a stylus to ensure pinpoint accuracy - indeed I use a stylus most of the time - keeps the screen nice and clean and is faster and more accurate than my large fingers.

Would I recommend it? Wholeheartedly I would. It is absolutely the best portable music player I have ever used.

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